Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

"We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses, "Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live." Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

I can be tempting to complain about our lot in life, especially when we experience some difficulty or setback. However, we need to keep in mind life isn’t about getting what we want when we want it. It’s about accepting what God wants for us when He gives it. Jesus came into this world not to take away suffering, but to transform suffering into the reparations of sins and the salvation of souls. In a similar manner, our sufferings can be a source of glory for God and salvation for others, especially when we offer them up in unity with the Passion and Death of Jesus. Just as Jesus was lifted up as a sign of God’s Love and Mercy, so too we are asked to be signs of God’s Compassion for all we met each day.

Have we sinned by complaining about our lives or about God? How can we remain steadfast in faith even in the midst of our sufferings? What can we do to transform our sufferings into opportunities for grace?

O Lord, it is when we spend our lives looking upon you that we live most fruitfully.

Amen.